Building History

The Auburn City Hall was completed in 1978-1979 and designed by the Seattle architectural firm fo Streeter/Dermanis and Associates. A 1978 article in the Seattle Times by reporter Cathy Reiner said of the new building: “Auburn, on the other hand, tried and failed four time to get voters to approve funds for a new City Hall. Then early in 1977 the city of 24,750 residents received a $3.8 million E.D.A. grant. The money was part of a national program to combat unemployment and called for replacing their 50-year-old old brick building immediately. Last April, Auburn city offices were moved into an old grocery and auto-parts shop. The Police Department was shuffed over to an old health spa. The old city building came down for the new one to replace it. Mayor Stan Kersey said their new 47,000-square-foot building is designed to last the next 50 years. ‘It’s built on the open-space concept,’ he said. ‘We’ll spread across it now, but have plenty of room to expand within the space later when we need it.’ The building, designed by Streeter/Dermanis & Associates, Seattle architect, and built by Merit Co. of Tacoma, is a two-story brick-and-glass structure with a full basement. It will have a glass-roofed greenhouse entry behind a large courtyard fronting on Main Street between A and Division Streets.” (See Cathy Reiner, “City Hall is many cities’ newest pride,” Seattle Times, 09/24/1978, p. K4.)

PCAD id: 25140